Maria Santiago
Maria Santiago (nee Flores) once lived a normal life with her husband and family. That changed on Emergence Day when the Locust destroyed their home and murdered their two young children. Maria and Dom fled to Jacinto, but the damage was done. With her children gone and her husband spending more and more time on the frontline, Maria surrendered to her grief. She vanished, leaving no word of her plans. Dom has dedicated himself to finding her. History Maria Santiago is the wife of COG soldier Dominic Santiago. Involved with Dom when they were just teenagers, Maria became pregnant out of marriage, which amongst other things led Dom to marry her, hoping to take responsibility for his actions and for his growing family. Dom enlisted to support his family. So, Maria mostly wanted to take care of Benedicto by herself, and she wanted to. A year later, she was pregnant with a girl. However, little Sylvia was early so Dom missed Maria giving birth to Sylvia. After Aspho, he spent more time with his family after Carlos died. Two years later, Dom and Maria moved out of their Lower Jacinto apartment and moved in a house in Epyhra (the one in Dom's flashback dream after being swallowed by the Riftworm). So, one day, Dom, Maria and the kids go to the park. While Dom and Maria sit together, while Bendicto and Sylvia play on the playground. Sadly, know one expected what would happen next. When Emergence Day struck, Maria and Dom lost both Benedicto Santiago and Sylvia Santiago, their children. Unable to deal with the shock and loss, Maria lost herself in the ruins of civilization. Four years after E-Day she went missingGears of War:Aspho Fields pg 39. Dom never gave up searching for her; he had contacts within the Stranded helping to look for her, in particular Franklin. Dom has a large heart tattooed on his right arm with her name set over it. Maria is a largely unseen character throughout the games, but her disappearance is a major motivating factor for Dom; by defeating the Locust and finding her, he hopes that he might one day be able to rebuild the family he lost on Emergence Day. Emergence Day Dom and Maria were in a park with their kids when E-Day struck. They were happy because they just rented their first houseGears of War:Sourcebook. (the one seen in Dom's Dream inside the Riftworm). While Benedicto and Sylvia were playing in a playground, an Emergence Hole opened in the park and swallowed the jungle gym Sylvia and Benedicto were on, killing them. Both parents were devastated, but Maria soon descended into madness and major depression, going weeks without speaking or eating. With the kids gone, her new home destroyed, and Dom spending more time in the field, Maria left 4 years later and she soon joined Stu's stranded group, which began Dom's search for her. Maria's Fate After years of seaching, sightings of a woman matching Maria's description were reported to Dom and his best friend Marcus Fenix, leading to a hospital where she may have been. Unfortunately for Dom, however, the Maria lookalike checked out of the hospital several days earlier and records were sketchy, sending him into a rage. Eventually, however, Dom picked up her trail in the Hollows, where Chap said that she may have been captured by the Locust. After much searching and a considerable argument between Marcus and Dom, they found her capture pod. When they opened it, Maria appears to be normal, as seen in Dom's wedding photo. However, Marcus beckons Dom to his senses, which causes him to realize that Maria is actually tortured, very thin, and no longer mentally stable. Dom, horrified at what has become of Maria, attempts to communicate with her, only to find that she is incapable of responding. Dom, disoriented and not certain as to what he should do, asks Marcus for advice. Marcus solemnly responds by saying, "It's okay". After appologizing Dom ends her suffering by shooting her. Torture Maria, like may others, was tortured or "processed" during her time as a Locust prisoner. She was whipped, beaten, exhausted, starved, scarred, and from the stitches around her head, scalped. It is unknown how long she was there, but the best guess is a couple of months, Quotes Gears of War:Aspho Fields References Category:Civilians Category:Stranded Category:Females Category:Tyran false false